Winemaker Notes
Fission is a dry-farmed, pure mountain wine, showcasing dark, intense fruit shaped by the cool elevation of the Alta Vista vineyard. With deep texture and sappy concentration from the old, 50-year-old vines, it builds into powerful tannins that remain refined, almost cloaked by the seductive fruit and gently evolving structure. The unique volcanic soils impart textural and mineral complexity, contributing to the wine’s earthy and savory tones. The terraced vineyard, nestled in the Mayacamas mountains, gives Fission a precise, saline minerality and remarkable depth that define its greatness.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
If you have any doubts about the freshness and viability of the hot 2022 vintage in California, taste this. The nose is so perfumed and delicate, with aromas of dark cherries, graphite, violets, soft blue fruit and a lovely mineral touch. The palate is taut yet lush, with fine-grained tannins and a mouthwatering finish. This is excellent today and will keep aging gracefully.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Tasted alongside the 2021 vintage, the 2022 Fission is another mountainous expression but has a bit more suppleness and immediate feel in this vintage. It boasts notes of baked plums, crushed herbs, turned, rocky earth, and leather. The savory herbs of the 2021 are also present in this version, though they offer more immediacy in terms of structure and have a plusher texture, with good evenness through the finish. While it might not offer the same longevity as the 2021, it should drink well over the coming 8-10 years.
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Vinous
The 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Fission is a big, rich wine that shows all the natural intensity of this extreme vintage. Super-ripe red plum fruit, cedar, tobacco, spice and mocha are pushed forward. Soft and open-knit, this racy Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alta Vista vineyard will drink well right out of the gate.
Far Mountain is based on the belief that some of the greatest potential for wine in California – and anywhere in the world – exists in remote pockets in the mountains of the Sonoma Valley. The growers the winery works with have taken decades of risks in both planting their vineyards and the farming choices they make today. The winery’s work is to channel the drama of these surroundings into wines that dazzle with energy and stand out immediately. Wines that bring a sheer pleasure in their flavors and textures, as well as unfold slowly, with never ending detail and fascination. It is a specific vision, literally chiseled by the landscape.
In 2025, Vinous named Far Mountain an "Emerging Producer to Watch."
"Far Mountain is one of the most exciting new projects in California. Mai Errazuriz and Rodrigo Soto source from top sites in Sonoma Valley and Moon Mountain to craft distinctive wines imbued with strong old-school California influences. Errazuriz most recently was Marketing Director for Paul Hobbs, while Soto was the Estate Director at Quintessa. Both have recently left the stability of those jobs to pursue their own American dream at Far Mountain. Early efforts have shown great promise. Based on what I have tasted thus far, the best is yet to come. Readers who appreciate classically inspired California wines will want to check out Far Mountain while it remains under the radar."
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.